Jann Arden at MapleFest

Ryan Donn -
Mar 20, 2014 / 8:30 am | Story:
111331

Photo: Contributed

Good Mother, Unloved, Insenstive are just a few of the hit songs from Jann Arden. I'm confident you know her music and know that she is one Canada's funniest and engaging Canadian performers. The only thing you may not know is that she will be playing an intimate show at the Kelowna Community Theatre as part of the 30th annual MapleFest next weekend.

Presented by the Centre culturel francophone de l’Okanagan, Maple Fest is a celebration of all things Francophone whether it be food, film, music or kids activities. They have planned a two day extravaganza for the whole family, March 29th/30th. Its great to see the culture from our Francophone community in the Okanagan (over 6000 strong) spill over into this fantastic showcase event and most of the activities are FREE.

Here is an interactive poster that will give you an idea of all the free events and activities they have planned. There is also a ticketed dance party at the BlackBox Theatre after Jann Arden featuring DJ Eric Lenger on the Saturday night.

I reached out to Claudie Valque, (Executive Director at http://www.leccfo.org) to give us some more insight about this event. This interview has been edited and condensed.

RD: Maple Fest had such a great response from the community last year. Its clear that there was a desire to expand the event. What drove the desire to book such a big act for this years event?

CV:We want to share maple sirup/sugar shack tradition with the community. Having more people at the festival is just natural. We want to create a big party around a Canadian tradition. Jann Arden is a fantastic singer and we wanted the Kelowna MapleFest becoming an annual “signature event”. This year, we also have more free activities for everybody. It is also about sharing Francophone culture. CCFO promotes French language and culture all year long in the Okanagan. This is a great way for us to show the community what we can do for them.

RD: Tell me more about the Centre cultural francophone de l’Okanagan:

CV:The Centre culturel francophone de l’Okanagan (CCFO) promotes the growth and conservation of the French culture among the residents of the Okanagan region. The CCFO is a non-profit organization offering a variety of French services and is involved in the promotion and organization of many events including:

RD:What is your favourite aspect of the francophone culture that will be celebrated at Maple Fest this year?

CV: I think it’s just the fact of having free French activities all week-end long. It will be easy to share Francophone culture with the community, because there is no “financial barrier”. Young and old, poor and rich can come and enjoy a great show in French. They can come and watch a free movie on Sunday at the CCFO. They can share with artists and play drum or draw on the ground.

We believe that food, music and arts are the elements of the culture that are the easiest to share.